


The Last Time

by goshinote



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Divorce, valentine's day-ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29488617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goshinote/pseuds/goshinote
Summary: Unhappily married couple Inuyasha and Kagome find themselves snowed in on the day they were going to sign divorce papers. As fate would have it, it is also the day before Valentine’s Day. They reminisce on their lives before unhappiness struck, and within the memories of all of their last times, they can’t help but wonder where they went wrong.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	The Last Time

**Author's Note:**

> So a few notes. There is a song mentioned in this story. It’s called “Rose of Sharon” by Mumford & Sons because you guys know by now that I’m obsessed with them. Since this story is only being posted here on AO3 due to the heavy subject matter, I’m actually going to put the lyrics in this story. It’s a really small part, so it’s not that big of a deal.
> 
> Also, this is very, very loosely based on the book "Landline" by Rainbow Rowell. I say loosely because I can’t remember the exact plot of that book, but the stuff I do remember is slightly mirrored in this story. I do remember it being a good book, though. Also there is a slight influence from the movie Marriage Story.
> 
> This is probably darker than my usual stuff just because of the heavy content, but the idea came to me and it begged to be written, so. Here we go.
> 
> I guess you can call this my Valentine’s Day story, but I don’t blame you if you don’t lol.
> 
> Many, many thanks to LostInFantasyWorlds for taking a peek at it for me and giving some awesome suggestions before I posted it :) You rock!

When Inuyasha woke up that morning, he was not expecting to find his wife sitting on the arm of the couch by his feet watching him.

“I want a divorce.”

At Kagome’s words, Inuyasha grimaced. 

“Good morning to you, too,” he replied, sitting up and stretching.

“Inuyasha, don’t be flippant,” Kagome chided.

Inuyasha sighed. “I’m not being flippant.” He stretched out a crick in his neck, sore from sleeping on the couch.

But it had been Kagome’s turn to sleep in the bed, so...the couch it was. He was eager to sleep in the bed that night, though.

Inuyasha pulled the blanket off of his body and looked at her.

Kagome stared back, her face calm but grim.

“I’m going to call a lawyer during my lunch break today,” Kagome explained. “So...I’ll write the name and number down so we’re not seeing the same one.”

Inuyasha frowned. “You want to bring a lawyer into this? I think we’re civil enough to work this out on our own.”

“It’s for legality’s sake,” Kagome replied. “To draw up the papers and stuff. I don’t...I don’t want to make this hard, so I won’t.”

“I won’t make it hard, either,” Inuyasha agreed. Kagome nodded. 

“Good. Well...I’m going to get ready for work.” When she was gone, Inuyasha flopped back on the couch.

It didn’t feel good and he certainly hadn’t expected it at six-thirty in the morning, but Kagome’s request for a divorce didn’t come as a surprise.

He’d had a plan to ask for one at dinner that night.

So. Kagome had just saved him some time.

o.O.o

When Inuyasha got to work, he was feeling...a little down, but not as bad as he thought he would when he and Kagome finally agreed on the divorce. He was a little annoyed about having to find a lawyer; he already had a lot on his plate with his job at the publishing company, but he just wanted to get things settled as soon as possible.

_I wish it didn’t have to come down to this, but it’s what’s best for both of us. Neither of us have really been happy in awhile…_

“Hey, man!”

Inuyasha jumped a bit when his co-worker and friend, Miroku, entered his office.

“Hey,” Inuyasha replied. “How’s it going?”

“Excellent,” Miroku said smoothly. “Do you and Kagome want to double date for Valentine’s Day again this year?”

Inuyasha froze. _Valentine’s Day? Oh, crap...that’s next week. Of all times…_

“We’re actually getting--”

He cut himself off. _I can’t just tell Miroku now...I don’t think Kagome would want to share the, uh, news with anyone else right now._

“Uh, we’re getting...take-out,” Inuyasha corrected. “So...we’re not going anywhere or do anything.”

Miroku rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Come on, Inuyasha! You can’t just stay home for Valentine’s Day. Come out with me and Sango. It’ll be fun. I know you said you and Kagome usually celebrate your anniversary alone, but we had such a great time last year.”

Inuyasha tried to hide his wince. “Let me talk to Kagome about it and I’ll let you know.”

After Miroku left, Inuyasha took a deep breath.

He glanced at the photo on his desk of himself and Kagome at their wedding almost five years earlier.

Kagome’s smile was bright, brighter than he’d seen it in awhile, and he looked happy, too.

_Why can’t we go back to that? How did we end up like we are now?_

o.O.o

“I’m home,” Inuyasha called when he walked into the house.

“In the kitchen,” Kagome called back. Inuyasha walked in to see her standing in front of the stove stirring something in a pot.

“I could’ve cooked tonight,” Inuyasha said as he slipped off his coat.

“It’s okay,” Kagome replied. “I got home a little early so I don’t mind.” 

Inuyasha nodded. “Well, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Inuyasha went to hang his coat up and change into sweats. He would broach the subject of Valentine’s Day...at some point, but not yet. He wanted to just decompress first.

Once he and Kagome sat down to eat the soup she’d made, he glanced up at her from where she was sitting across from him at the table.

She was looking at her soup with a pensive expression on her face. Inuyasha wanted to say something, but it felt like between the two of them, there wasn’t really anything left.

_Where did we go wrong?_

“So,” Inuyasha finally began, “you might have to ward off Sango.”

Kagome glanced up at him. “Why?” 

“Miroku invited us to go out for Valentine’s Day again this year,” Inuyasha explained.

Kagome sighed. “I forgot about Valentine’s Day. It’s in, what, a week?”

At Inuyasha’s nod, Kagome grimaced.

“Five years,” she murmured. “We made it that long, just about.”

Because of course their wedding anniversary was on Valentine’s Day.

“What did Miroku say when you told him about the divorce?” she asked.

“I didn’t tell him,” Inuyasha replied. “I just told him I’d talk to you about it. I didn’t think you’d want to tell anyone yet.”

“Thank you,” Kagome said sincerely. “I appreciate that.” She took a deep breath. “I found a lawyer. I wrote the number down and set it on your nightstand.”

“Thanks,” Inuyasha replied. 

_Keh, I just thanked my wife for giving me the information about her divorce lawyer….the week before Valentine’s Day...which is also our anniversary...ironic._

“The soup is really good,” Inuyasha said, changing the subject.

“Thank you,” Kagome replied.

They fell into a silence as they finished eating. When they were done, Inuyasha did the dishes while Kagome went into the living room. 

Inuyasha found her reading a book, so he turned on the TV, making sure to keep the volume at a low enough level so as not to disturb her.

He figured he should count himself lucky. They were still civil. They still ate dinner together every night. They were together, but not...together. They were alone, but just in the same room.

And later that night, Kagome changed into her pajamas and grabbed her pillow and blanket to sleep on the couch, while Inuyasha went into the bedroom.

“Good night,” he said as he left the living room.

“Good night,” Kagome replied as she lay down on the couch.

When Inuyasha lay down in the bed, caught a whiff of Kagome’s scent that was locked in the sheet.

He remembered when the way she smelled used to fill him with joy and affection, with love and contentment.

Now it just made him sad.

He just wished he knew where they’d gone wrong.

O.o.O.o.O

Kagome lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.

_I can’t believe I asked Inuyasha for a divorce a week before our wedding anniversary. It’s like time doesn’t even exist._

Five years married.

Ten years together.

She remembered meeting Inuyasha in college and falling in love with him rather quickly. The long, silver hair was what initially got her attention, but then his golden eyes had been what roped her in.

She remembered the moment she knew she loved him.

He’d smiled at her. Not his usual smirk or grin, but a real and true smile.

It was their third date, right after he’d kissed her for the first time.

She’d never seen anything more beautiful.

 _When was the last time I saw him smile like that? Hell, when was the last time_ I _had a genuine smile on my own face?_

They’d talked about trying marriage counseling, but with how _tired_ they were after work and how _tired_ they were from trying to make their marriage work, they just...couldn’t.

Things had been going downhill for a while, more so for her, which Inuyasha never seemed to realize.

She just felt alone.

o.O.o

The next day, she scheduled an appointment to sign the papers.

Inuyasha’s lawyer faxed over his paperwork, so they were able to just sign them at Kagome’s lawyer’s office.

The appointment was the following week on February thirteenth, because of course it would be the day before Valentine’s Day.

 _Of course_ it would be the day before their anniversary.

_The timing sucks, but I guess we don’t have much of a choice..._

O.o.O.o.O

Inuyasha was anxious.

He’d taken a half-day off from work, so he’d been home by lunchtime. Kagome wouldn’t be home until four, so he sat around the house until she arrived.

Their house was on the way to the lawyer’s office from Kagome’s school, so she’d offered to just pick him up so they could ride over together.

Inuyasha hadn’t bothered to disagree.

When Kagome got home, she walked inside to change her clothes so they could leave for the lawyer’s office.

“We better hurry,” she said when she got home and walked into the bedroom. “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

Inuyasha nodded and stood by the door, waiting for her to change her clothes.

When Kagome came out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go sign the papers, Inuyasha felt a lump suddenly come to his throat.

Because now it felt real.

“Are you ready?” she asked as she grabbed her purse.

_No…_

When he didn’t answer, Kagome paused to look at him.

“Hey,” she said. “Are you good to go?”

Inuyasha looked at her, locking his gaze with hers, watching when her eyes went wide.

“What...are you crying?” she asked.

Inuyasha reached up to touch his cheeks and, sure enough, he felt the wetness of tears.

“I…”

His voice broke; if he tried to say anything else, he knew it would just come out as a sob.

And that was the last thing either of them needed.

“Inuyasha,” Kagome said, stepping toward him.

Inuyasha shook his head and moved back, knowing that if she touched him…

He didn’t know what he’d do.

_Cry harder? Hug her? Kiss her? Tell her I changed my mind?_

“Will this make you happy?” he whispered in a choked voice. “Will...doing this...make you happy?”

Kagome’s eyes widened. “I...no. No, it won’t. But it’ll make me less unhappy than I would be if we stayed together.”

Inuyasha nodded and wiped at his face. “Alright. Let’s go.”

He walked out of the house, only to pause on the porch.

“Whoa,” he said. He heard Kagome curse quietly behind him as they took in the sight in front of them.

It was snowing thickly; there was already a dusting on the roads, and if the chill of the frigid wind meant anything, Inuyasha figured it would only get worse.

“Did you know it was supposed to snow?” Kagome asked, her voice tense. “I was just out here twenty minutes ago and it looked like rain…”

Inuyasha shook his head and pulled out his phone. 

Sure enough, there was a snowstorm warning. He hadn’t bothered to check the weather, so focused was he on the appointment with the lawyer. He figured Kagome was the same.

Kagome’s phone rang. She sighed and pulled it out, showing Inuyasha that it was the lawyer’s office calling.

She answered the phone and spoke for a moment before ending the call.

“That was my lawyer,” she said. “The storm is supposed to get bad really quickly so she cancelled our appointment.”

Inuyasha nodded and led Kagome back into the house before closing the door behind him.

“I can’t even remember the last time we had snow the day before Valentine’s Day,” Inuyasha commented as he slid his coat off.

Kagome did the same, although she remained silent as she slipped her shoes off.

Inuyasha wasn’t sure what to do. They obviously weren’t going anywhere else for the rest of the day, and Inuyasha immediately felt a wave of awkwardness come over them.

_What can I say to my soon-to-be-ex-wife the day of our divorce?_

o.O.o

They were quiet for the next hour or so until Inuyasha couldn’t take it anymore.

“Do you want to do something?” he asked Kagome, only feeling slightly guilty for taking her attention away from the book she was reading.

She frowned and put it down to look at him.

“Like what?” she asked.

“We could play a game,” Inuyasha suggested. Kagome shrugged, so Inuyasha took that as an agreement.

He went and dug around a bit before he found a deck of cards. He found Uno, which had been their favorite card game back in college.

Kagome smiled weakly when she saw it.

“I can’t even remember the last time we played Uno,” she commented as she sat down on the couch.

There were three cushions on the couch, so they each sat on one end so they could set the cards on the middle cushion between them.

Once Inuyasha had dealt, he nodded at Kagome.

“You can start,” he said.

They played their first game silently.

A few minutes into their second one, Inuyasha glanced up at Kagome.

“Remember our Uno championships?” she asked.

Kagome half-smiled. “Yeah. Do you remember the one when I kicked your butt, like, ten games in row?”

Inuyasha chuckled. “Yeah. I don’t know why I agreed to that.”

“We were stressed college students,” Kagome reminded him. “We needed a little fun. We deserved it.”

Inuyasha nodded. “Yeah.”

They fell back into a silence as they continued playing.

Inuyasha couldn’t help but glance up at her, remembering their countless games of Uno in college. He remembered Kagome’s carefree smile when he met her when they were twenty.

_How did that smile change so much in ten years?_

They didn’t talk about it then, but Inuyasha remembered what the prize was for the winner of their Uno championships.

A kiss. Winner’s choice.

_Inuyasha glanced at his cards, knowing that he could win the game on his next turn._

_But...he loved when Kagome won. He loved how her eyes lit up and she pretended to think about how she would go about giving him her winner’s kiss._

_It was the same each time: she’d crawl forward toward him, brush her nose with his, hover her lips right over his…_

_...and then press a chaste kiss to his cheek._

_Then Inuyasha would wrap his arms around her and pull her against him, laying back on the floor or couch or wherever they were playing, holding her tightly and kissing her as if_ he’d _been the winner._

That reminded him…

He couldn’t even remember their last kiss.

He thought back to their _first_ kiss, which had, of course, happened after a game of Uno...

_He pulled up in front of her dorm at the end of their third date, knowing he wanted to kiss her._

_He’d been_ dying _to kiss her, practically since the moment she’d first smiled at him with those blue eyes shining._

_Inuyasha walked her up to her dorm and smiled down at her. Before he could make a move, she spoke._

_“Do you want to come in for a little while? My roommate isn’t home. We could...hang out a little more. I have Uno if you like that game.”_ _  
_

_Inuyasha laughed. “Sure, I love Uno.”_ _  
_

_Once they’d started their first game, Kagome got an early lead._

_“What do I get when I win?” she teased. Inuyasha chuckled._

_“What do you want?”_

_Kagome paused to look up at him before smiling warmly. “Hm...I guess you’ll find out when I win.”_

_He was curious about what she could have possibly been so giddy about, so he threw the game. It wasn’t hard. He knew she would’ve won anyway. He just sped up the process a little._

_“I win!” she exclaimed. She grinned at him. “Do you want to know what I want as my prize?”_ _  
_

_Inuyasha laughed. “What?”_

_Kagome moved the cards to the side of the couch, not caring when some of them slipped to the floor._

_“A kiss?” she asked, her voice suddenly teetering on the edge of shy._ _  
_

_Inuyasha’s eyes widened, but he didn’t hesitate._

_He reached forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close before burying his hand in her hair and kissing her._

_It was quick and chaste, but the passion in it was infinite._

_When they pulled away, he smiled, a wave of affection and...maybe even_ love _swept over him._

_He’d never felt like this before._

_“Kagome,” he murmured before kissing her again._

_He felt her arms wrap around his neck as she tilted her head. She parted her lips against his mouth, allowing Inuyasha in for a taste._

_Her sweetness was heavy on his tongue as he kissed her, deepening the motions of his mouth as he gently pressed her back to lay on the couch._

_His body covered hers as he kissed her. Kagome’s arms tightened around him, matching his movements equally as they lost themselves in their seemingly never-ending kisses._

_And he knew he loved her._

As Inuyasha’s thoughts drifted back to the present, he remembered that Kagome had once told him that was the night she realized _she_ loved _him,_ and at the time, he remembered thinking that it only solidified his belief that they were meant to be together.

Inuyasha wanted to ask Kagome where she thought they went wrong. He wanted to ask her _why_ things had changed so much. 

But...he didn’t know how.

_Maybe we should’ve gone to marriage counseling…_

“Kagome?” he said.

“Hm?” she replied, looking through the cards in her hand.

“Do you...do you maybe want to do marriage counseling?”

Kagome froze.

She looked up at him and frowned. “Really, Inuyasha? You ask me that the day we were supposed to sign divorce papers?” She shook her head. “And over what? A game of Uno?”

Inuyasha frowned back at her. “What’s wrong with that?”

Kagome huffed. “Are you feeling nostalgic?” Inuyasha shrugged.

“Well...yeah.”

Kagome huffed. “Nostalgia isn’t a good enough reason to keep us both miserable any longer than we need to be.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened.

That was... _harsh._

“Kagome…”

She didn’t look at him; instead, she started gathering up the cards and putting them back in the box.

“Wait,” Inuyasha said, pulling his hand away when she reached for his cards.

Kagome looked at him expectantly.

“One more game,” Inuyasha insisted. “One more. And the winner gets a prize.”

Kagome huffed. “What kind of prize?”

“I don’t know,” Inuyasha said. “Whatever prize the winner wants.”

“What if I want the bed tonight?” Kagome asked. “If I win, that’s what I’ll want.”

Inuyasha shrugged. “Fine.”

Kagome sighed and pulled the cards out of the box again before shuffling them. Inuyasha finally relinquished his over to her so she could add them to the deck.

Once she’d dealt, Inuyasha looked over his cards.

He’d always let her win in college. Well, not every time, but often enough. He just...he loved seeing her eyes light up. 

“I feel like you have something planned,” Kagome said as she looked over her cards. “But I don’t know what.”

“I just plan on kicking your butt at this game,” Inuyasha replied casually as he lay down his first card.

“Hm. Sure you do.”

He eyed the card she lay down before looking back at his own.

_I need to win this game so I can...I don’t know. Ask her what all went wrong?_

“Kagome--”

“Shh,” she interrupted. “I’m concentrating.”

Oh, yeah. He really needed to win this game.

It came down to the wire. They both had one card left, and when Kagome called Uno, the card she set down was the same color Inuyasha had.

He looked up at Kagome, ready to claim victory, but then he thought about how much he missed seeing her eyes light up like they did in college. He missed…

He missed Kagome.

So instead of going out, he drew a card from the deck.

“I got nothing,” he said.

Kagome pulled her own card and smiled. “Well, Inuyasha, looks like I’m the winner.” She set down her final card and clapped her hands together.

Her eyes brightened a bit, but the light he remembered never came.

“Winner can claim their prize,” Inuyasha said as he gathered up the cards. “You can have the bed tonight.”

Kagome looked up at him and their eyes locked.

“That’s not what I want,” she replied. “I want something else.”

Inuyasha paused. “Okay...what is it?”

“I want you to answer a question,” Kagome said. “Why did you just ask to go to marriage counseling? And don’t say it’s nostalgia again.”

Inuyasha sighed and closed the box before setting it on the coffee table.

“I can’t remember our last kiss,” he admitted. “I don’t remember when it was or where we were or anything.”

Kagome’s eyes softened. “Why is that such a big deal?”

Inuyasha shook his head. “I guess it’s not. I was just thinking about your prizes with Uno in college.”

Kagome smiled, a genuine one. It was small, but definitely there.

“I remember,” she replied. “I was always teasing you.”

Inuyasha half-smiled. “Yeah. But I loved it.”

Their eyes locked for a moment, and Inuyasha wondered what was going through her mind.

“Can I ask you a question now?” Inuyasha asked.

“You didn’t win the game,” Kagome pointed out. Inuyasha chuckled.

“Does that mean I can’t ask you anything?”

Kagome sat back against the arm of the couch. “Go ahead.”

Inuyasha paused.

“What made you finally ask for the divorce last week?”

O.o.O.o.O

Kagome hadn’t seen Inuyasha smile so much in a long time.

What she saw wasn’t his usual smirks or grins; these were small. They didn’t reach his eyes, but the corners of his mouth still tipped up a bit while they played Uno.

Uno. Their favorite game.

They’d played Uno on their wedding night. Winner got to decide how they would…

Kagome shook her head. She _definitely_ didn’t need to be thinking about that at the moment.

And she wasn’t.

She was thinking about the question Inuyasha had just asked her.

“I don’t know,” she finally replied. “It was about time, don’t you think?”

Inuyasha shrugged. “I guess.” He looked away. “I’d actually been planning on asking for one after work that day.”

Kagome frowned. “You just said you want to try marriage counseling. How do you go from wanting a divorce to wanting to do that?”

“Because it bothers me that I can’t remember our last kiss,” Inuyasha protested. “I wanted to ask for a divorce, but then...playing Uno again...I want to give us another shot.”

Kagome sighed. “No.”

Inuyasha looked at her pleadingly. “Come on, Kagome. It’s not like either of us can get any more unhappy.”

Kagome’s eyes narrowed. “Wow, Inuyasha, what a great argument. But did you ever think to ask me what I want? About any of this?”

Inuyasha looked taken aback by her sudden anger.

“I...I asked if getting the divorce would make you happy,” he reminded her pointedly.

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes. Thanks for reminding me of that.” She got up from the couch and went to storm into the bedroom, but Inuyasha got up and grabbed her hand before she could.

“Kagome, stop,” Inuyasha said. “Please just...what do you want?”

Kagome turned to look at him, and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” she whispered. “I’m going to just...take a bath.”

She walked into the bedroom, immediately walking into the en suite bathroom and closing the door.

O.o.O.o.O

Inuyasha sighed.

_I thought she wanted a divorce. That’s literally what she said. ‘I want a divorce.’_

He paused. _She didn’t say why, though. She didn’t say_ why _she wants it…_

Inuyasha walked into the kitchen and started pulling out pots and pans.

 _I’ll make her some udon._ _That’s her favorite._

By the time he was nearly finished, Kagome had emerged from the bathroom, clad in pajamas with damp hair flowing down her back.

She paused when she saw Inuyasha putting the final touches on the udon.

“What are you doing?”

Inuyasha grabbed two bowls. “I made some udon. I figured you might want some.”

He didn’t emphasize the “want” like he was tempted to; he figured that might start an argument he really didn’t want to have.

“I can’t remember the last time we had udon,” Kagome mentioned quietly.

Inuyasha shook his head. “That seems to be a trend. We can’t remember the last time we did any of our stuff.”

He caught a sad smile on Kagome’s face.

“Our stuff,” she repeated. “Yeah…” She half-smiled. “I can make mochi later.”

Inuyasha smiled at her. “That sounds good.”

Udon and mochi...their celebration meal for whenever they finished an exam.

Once Inuyasha had gotten their bowls, they went and sat at the table to eat.

It was quiet for a few moments as they slurped their noodles.

Inuyasha glanced up at her. _We eat dinner together every night, but I can’t remember the last time we actually_ talked _over a meal._

“So how was your day?” Inuyasha asked. Kagome paused, a bit of noodles halfway to her mouth as she looked at him.

“My day?” she repeated. “Um, it was fine. My students did well on their tests for the most part.”

“That’s good,” Inuyasha replied.

Kagome was a high school History teacher, which had been her dream since she was little.

One of Inuyasha’s greatest memories was hugging Kagome after their graduation ceremony, feeling her nuzzle his neck and murmuring _We finally did it_ as they waited to meet up with their families

Getting to see Kagome start her dream job...it was incredible.

“How was yours?” Kagome asked.

“My students?” Inuyasha asked. “I don’t have students.”

Kagome laughed lightly. “I meant your day.”

Her laugh stirred his heart. It filled him with something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

_I missed the sound of her laugh. It’s nice._

“My day was fine,” Inuyasha replied. “We approved a new manuscript today and it looks like it’s going to be pretty successful.”

“That’s great,” Kagome said. 

They fell into a silence again as they finished slurping their noodles.

When they were done, Inuyasha started to get up to wash the dishes.

“I’ll get it,” Kagome said as she stood from the table. “You cooked so I’ll clean up.”

Inuyasha watched her as she quietly moved through the kitchen, washing up the dishes and wiping down the counters.

He thought back to when they would clean up after dinner _together._ Inuyasha would click on the bluetooth speaker they'd gotten as a wedding present and they would dance around the kitchen, Inuyasha washing dishes and Kagome drying, singing and laughing and flinging soapy bubbles at each other.

 _When was the last time we did that?_ Inuyasha wondered. _When was the last time we did_ any _of the things that used to make us...us?_

Kagome laughed softly, catching Inuyasha’s attention on her as she washed the dishes.

“Remember our first noise complaint?” she asked, glancing back at him.

Inuyasha chuckled. “How could I forget?”

He figured she must have been thinking about their old dishwashing routine, too. When they’d first used the bluetooth speaker, they didn’t realize just how loud it was or how much the sound would travel.

_Inuyasha laughed as he flicked a few bubbles at Kagome._

_“That got in my eye!” she shrieked. Inuyasha immediately grabbed a towel and brought it over._

_“Are you okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry, baby! I should’ve--”_ _  
_

_Kagome laughed evilly and wiped a handful of suds on his cheek._

_“Just kidding!” she teased. “I can’t believe you fell for that!”_

_Inuyasha rolled his eyes and laughed. “Wow, Kagome. Just wow.”_ _  
_

_Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him._

_“Do you want to try out that new speaker?” she asked, brushing her nose with his. “I’ll sing along to the music instead of wiping bubbles on your face.”_ _  
_

_Inuyasha laughed and kissed her forehead quickly. “Be right back.”_

_He wiped off his hands to find the speaker. Once he'd found it and gotten it turned on, he took a moment to connect his phone._

_“Alright,” he began, “I think I got it. What song do you wanna hear, baby?”_

_Kagome smiled at him. “What do you think, my love?”_

_“Say no more.”_ _  
_

_Inuyasha found the song he knew she was talking about and turned it on. He set the phone on the counter and walked back to stand next to Kagome at the sink._

_She smiled brightly when “Rose of Sharon” began playing._

_When the song reached the chorus, Inuyasha gently pulled Kagome’s hands out of the water and wrapped them around his neck. He could feel his collar start to dampen from the suds on her fingers, but he didn’t care._

_“Feels like our wedding day again, huh?” Inuyasha murmured, pressing his forehead against Kagome’s._

_“Yeah,” Kagome agreed softly. “It was like a dream, wasn’t it, baby?”_ _  
_

_Inuyasha hummed. “It was.”_

_He smiled and began softly singing along to the song, just like he had during their first dance at their wedding only a month earlier._

_“And I will surround you_

_With a love too deep for words_

_Hold you from the world and its curse_

_So long as I have breath in my lungs_

_Long as there's a song to be sung_

_I will be yours and you will be mine_

_Ever our lives entwined...”_

_Kagome smiled. “I love when you sing to me.”_ _  
_

_Inuyasha laughed. “I only do it for you, woman. Don’t ask me to get up and do any karaoke crap.”_ _  
_

_Kagome smiled and shook her head. “I won’t, honey. Just for me.”_

_They slow-danced for the rest of the song until another way came on._

_“Is this our wedding playlist?” Kagome asked, patting his cheek mirthfully._

_“Maybe,” Inuyasha replied. Kagome laughed as an upbeat song came on._

_“Turn it up, babe!” Kagome requested. Inuyasha blasted the song, admiring how the speaker kicked the bass up so loudly._

_They were singing at the top of their lungs as they resumed washing dishes._

_Then a little while later, their landlord appeared at the door with a formal noise complaint._

_Inuyasha and Kagome kept it together while he was there, but as soon as he was gone, they dissolved into giggles._

_They kept playing music every time they did dishes, but from that moment on, they just kept it at a quieter volume._

“I don’t know how we didn’t get kicked out of that old apartment,” Kagome commented, breaking Inuyasha from the memory. “We stayed a little quieter, but not much.”

Inuyasha smiled. “Maybe we were just lucky.”

“Or the landlord remembered we’d only signed a six-month lease,” Kagome reminded him.

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Inuyasha agreed.

When silence fell between them again, Inuyasha got up and went to find the speaker. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d used it, but he knew it was in a cabinet somewhere in the kitchen. It was the only place they’d ever used it in the first place.

After digging around for a moment, Inuyasha found the speaker and got it set up before connecting his phone.

“Now we can listen to music while we make mochi,” Inuyasha said as he hit shuffle on his music app.

“You want mochi now?” Kagome asked. “We just ate all that udon.”

Inuyasha shrugged. “By the time it’s done, maybe we’ll be hungry again.”

Kagome shrugged good-naturedly. “You’ve got a point there.”

Having music on meant the silence they fell into wasn’t actual silence, so Inuyasha let the conversation end as they started grabbing things to make mochi.

“Remember when the mochi melted in your car that one time?” Kagome asked.

Inuyasha groaned. “Yeah, and it left that huge stain. Had to replace the whole carpet in the backseat.”

“I miss that car,” Kagome said. “I liked the sunroof.”

Inuyasha thought about Kagome sticking her head up and out of the sunroof of his old car. During the summertime, they liked to take long drives late into the night. As Inuyasha drove, Kagome would make sure there were no other cars around before unbuckling her seat belt and standing on the console to practically hang out the sunroof.

Those nights...those were what he missed the most.

He looked at Kagome as she grabbed the stuff they would need to make mochi, thinking about the changes he’d witnessed over the years.

Her hair was longer now, brushing right at her waist as opposed to when it hit right past her shoulders when they were younger. They always joked that Inuyasha would be the one with long hair, but then she started letting it grow out.

_I wonder why she did that...I never really thought to ask._

“You’ve let your hair get pretty long,” Inuyasha commented. “Why?”

Kagome paused. “What?”

Inuyasha nodded at her hair. “Your hair is really long now. Why did you grow it out?”

Kagome frowned. “Inuyasha, it’s been this long for, like, eight months. Are you just now noticing?”

Inuyasha frowned back. “I’ve noticed. I just...didn’t think to ask.”

Kagome sighed and closed her eyes. “Yeah. You didn’t think to ask. I’m not surprised.”

Before Inuyasha could argue, she closed the cabinet she’d been searching and started putting things away.

“I’m tired,” she said. “Maybe we can buy some mochi next time one of us goes grocery shopping.”

“Kagome, wait--”

“I’m tired, Inuyasha,” she repeated. “I’m going to bed.”

“So that’s it?” Inuyasha asked. “You’re not even going to try?”

“Try _what?”_ she asked. “To make mochi? I just said I--”

“Try to make this marriage work!” Inuyasha shouted.

Kagome’s jaw dropped. “To make...how do you go from mochi to _marriage?_ And where do you get off accusing _me_ of not trying to make this marriage work?”

Inuyasha frowned. “So it’s my fault that you want a divorce? It’s my fault that this marriage is ending?”

Kagome glared at him silently.

“What, Kagome?” Inuyasha pressed. “What are you so mad about? We’re getting the divorce like _you_ want. We’ll sign the papers tomorrow or the next day or whenever the snow melts enough to go do it.”

“Ask me what I want,” Kagome said, her voice level. “Ask me.”

Inuyasha paused. “I did...and you said you want a divorce.”

She scoffed. “Fine. Ask me why I want a divorce.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Kagome, _why_ do you want a divorce?” 

“Because I’ve been alone for the last year.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. “You’ve been...what? You haven’t been alone. I’ve been here the whole time.”

Kagome shook her head. “No. You work so much. You’re barely home and when you are...it’s like you’re not.”

Inuyasha huffed. “Well, you can’t blame me for being tired--”

“I’m tired, too!” Kagome shouted. “I’m _so_ tired, Inuyasha. I’m tired of acting like more and more of me hasn’t been dying every day for the last year.” Her voice broke on a sob. “You just...you don’t care.”

_She’s crying? What...how did we just go from laughing in the kitchen to...this?_

“Kagome...what’s wrong?”

She broke.

She fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands and just... _breaking._

All anger forgotten, Inuyasha knelt next to her and set a hand on her shoulder.

“Kagome, what’s wrong?” he repeated. “Hey, look at me, okay?”

He gently pulled her hands away from her face, taking in the sight of her tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Baby, talk to me,” he begged, the term of endearment slipping from his lips. “What’s going on?”

Kagome took a deep, shaky breath and wiped her face.

“Do you remember the kid,” she began with a sniffle, “who died in that accident last year? It was in the beginning of March. A drunk driver hit her car while she was driving home from school and…” Kagome took a deep breath. “...she was declared dead on the scene.”

Inuyasha stopped to think; it sounded familiar.

_“Hey, did you hear about the wreck in town today?” Inuyasha asked. “A drunk driver hit a kid.”_

_“Oh, that’s awful,” Kagome replied. “How old was the kid?”_

_“A teenager,” Inuyasha explained. “She was driving, so maybe sixteen or seventeen? I think they said she went to your school.”_

_Kagome paused. “Did you see a name?”_

_“No, but we can check the news.”_

_As they watched the news and the name and picture of the student flashed on the screen, Kagome gasped._

_“You know her?” Inuyasha asked._

_Kagome nodded. “Yeah…” She took a deep breath._

_And Inuyasha’s phone rang._

_“Crap,” he grumbled as he pulled it out of his pocket. It was his boss, no doubt to yell at him about the error he’d made in a report that day._

_“Sorry, baby,” he said as he stood up. “I have to take this. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”_

_When he got off the phone after a very solid scolding, he found Kagome in the kitchen._

_“Hey,” he said as he set the phone on the counter. “You alright?”_ _  
_

_“Yeah,” Kagome replied. “I made ramen. Are you ready to eat?”_

Nothing else was said about the girl that night, but Inuyasha remembered it happening, so he nodded at Kagome.

Kagome’s face crumpled. “She...she was in my class. She was one of my students. She was on her way home from taking a make-up exam in...my class.”

A fresh wave of tears washed down her face as she dissolved into sobs again.

Horror filled Inuyasha as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap.

She buried her face against his neck and weeped, her body shaking every few moments as she came undone in his arms.

When she finally calmed down a bit, Inuyasha ran his hand through her hair.

“Kagome, why didn’t you tell me?”

She shook her head. “You didn’t ask.” Her voice was soft and broken. He’d never heard her sound so defeated.

She pulled back to look up at him. “You don’t notice things, Inuyasha. I’m not necessarily mad or upset that you didn’t ask. I’m upset because you don't _notice_ enough to know that there might be something wrong.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. “But...I do.”

Kagome shook her head again. “You don’t. If you’d noticed, you would have asked me sooner.” She got out of his lap and stood up, wiping the rest of her tears.

“Just...think, Inuyasha. Think about it really hard.”

Inuyasha frowned, looking up at her from where he was still seated on the floor.

He thought back to that time. He’d had to start working extra hours after that mistake; it had cost the company quite a bit of money to fix. He would have been fired if he didn’t have such a good reputation at the company.

Luckily, he’d managed to right all his wrongs and get back in good standing with all of his bosses, even earning a promotion in the midst of it all.

But Kagome...looking back and really remembering the last year, he realized that she’d started to change that day.

That was when things started to change with them.

Because...she was hurting and he didn’t care enough to notice.

He was too busy with his own stuff happening at work; he’d been annoyed that she wasn’t as concerned with what he was doing, but now...the feeling had been mutual the whole time.

But he just hadn’t asked.

“Kagome…you’ve been hurting this badly ever since then?”

He watched her eyes widen as he stood up, never breaking their eye contact.

She shrugged weakly. “My student died, Inuyasha. She died after taking one of my exams. That's not...you don’t get over something like that easily. It destroyed me. But what made it worse was knowing that my husband didn’t care enough to notice. What was the point in telling you when I didn't even think you’d care? If you didn’t care enough to notice, how could I have known that you'd care when I finally told you? And the funeral...it was all too much.”

 _How did I not notice? I know things have been busy at work, but...how could I not have noticed this? What is_ wrong _with me?_

“I’m sorry,” he whispered sincerely. “I...I’m _so_ sorry. What can I do for you? What can I do to make you feel better? To...to make this better for you?”

Inuyasha saw the shock on Kagome’s face.

“It’s taken you so long to ask the right question,” she said. “But now...I don’t have an answer.”

She wiped the final few tears away. “Now... _please_ let me just go to sleep.”

When she walked toward the couch, Inuyasha stopped her.

“Take the bed tonight,” he said. “I’ll take the couch again.”

Kagome nodded and turned around to head into the bedroom.

Inuyasha took a deep breath and went to sit on the couch.

_Kagome has been hurting so badly for all this time...and I didn’t even notice. How did I not notice?_

He thought back over the last eleven months, trying to pinpoint any changes after the student’s death.

_It was around that time that she started to get a little quieter. Not by much, but I remember her not talking as much over dinner. I figured she was just tired from work. I know I definitely was._

He thought back to what Kagome had just said.

_She mentioned a funeral. I don’t remember going to a funeral._

His eyes widened. He didn’t go to a funeral. That was the problem.

_“Can you go somewhere with me on Saturday, baby?”_

_Inuyasha looked up from where he was working on his laptop at the kitchen table._

_“This Saturday?” he asked. “You know I’m swamped, babe. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to be away from this work mess at all this weekend.”_ _  
_

_Kagome nodded. “Okay.”_

Inuyasha remembered her just walking away without another word. It struck him as odd; usually she would at least try to convince him a little harder, but he was so relieved that she wasn’t going to press the issue that he didn’t bother asking.

There it was again. He didn’t ask.

After a moment of thought, he realized that was right around the time of the student’s death. He figured that’s what she’d been talking about.

 _But if she’d told me about the funeral,_ he mused, _Of course I would’ve gone with her._

He frowned and got up from the couch to walk into the bedroom.

Kagome was already curled up under the covers, but he knew it was too soon for her to have fallen asleep.

“Kagome?” he said, keeping his voice quiet so as not to startle her.

“What?” she asked, lifting her head up to look at him.

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, being mindful to keep from brushing against her. “The funeral,” he said. “I would’ve gone with you if you’d told me about it.”

Kagome sat up and frowned at him. “I didn’t want you to go when all you would think about was work the whole time.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. “Kagome, give me some credit. You’re making me out to sound like a horrible person.”

Kagome paused. “I...you’re right. I’m sorry.” She sighed. “I don’t want you to think I’m blaming you completely. Communication goes both ways. I know I could’ve done a better job in telling you. It was just...really hard because it felt like you didn’t care.” She looked away. “And on that day...it really, _really_ felt like you didn’t care. How did you...how did you not notice how sad I was?”

Inuyasha softened. “I’ve been so caught up with work. It’s mellowed out over the last three months or so, but…”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. It had easily been almost five months since they'd slept in the same bed, and even longer since they'd laughed or sang or danced together. Now that he really thought about it, all of that had stopped shortly after the funeral. 

Kagome smiled weakly. “The damage has already been done. I think...I think it’s too late to salvage anything.”

An immense sadness washed over Inuyasha. 

They were finally, _finally_ talking, only to, what, further solidify that they shouldn't be together anymore?

Much like they had earlier that evening, tears started to fall from Inuyasha’s eyes. But they were different this time. It wasn't about just the marriage ending. 

It was about _knowing_ _why_ the marriage was ending. If he'd just...

He looked away from Kagome, knowing it was too late. Knowing _he_ was too late. 

“Inuyasha…”

He shook his head and hurriedly wiped his eyes. 

The distance between them suddenly felt insurmountable. 

He thought about everything. 

He thought about how Kagome falling asleep on the couch some nights had just turned into a regular thing, until it turned into awkwardness at night when she _did_ sleep in the bed. They’d stopped touching each other for the most part, had stopped making love, had stopped kissing or even just simply holding hands. 

A wall had been erected between them. And as much as Inuyasha was now _dying_ to tear it down…

Could they?

The thought sent him into soft sobs. 

He cried quietly, much like Kagome had in the hallway. 

Inuyasha felt Kagome shift in the bed before her arms wrapped around him. 

He moved into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist and squeezing her to him. 

He'd missed feeling her body against his like this. He'd missed hugging her and touching her and hearing her laugh and sing and--

He buried his face in her neck and inhaled her scent. Over their ten years together, her scent had stayed the same, a constant that he'd gown used to indulging in. 

He was hit with an onslaught of memories from their life together, from ten years worth of happiness, joy, fun, and…

Love. 

“Kagome...do you still love me?”

His words were muffled by her neck, but he knew she could hear him. 

She was quiet for a few moments before she tightened her arms around him. 

“Of course I do,” she replied, her voice just as shaky as his. “That's why all of this has hurt so much. You hurt me _so_ much, Inuyasha.”

He felt her dissolve into tears against him, so he only held her tighter as they cried together. 

He wasn't sure what would come next. He wasn't sure what they should do next. 

All he knew was that they cried themselves out together until they moved to the side, laying down wrapped around each other and eventually falling asleep. 

Inuyasha’s last thought before he fell asleep was that he'd miss sleeping with her warmth against him.

O.o.O.o.O

Kagome woke up with Inuyasha’s arms still wrapped tightly around her. 

The feelings from the night before flooded her all over again.

It had been...a _lot._

She needed a moment. 

She carefully untangled herself from Inuyasha and went to the bathroom, checking her phone as she did. 

It was five-thirty in the morning, thirty minutes earlier than she usually woke up, but she was wide awake. 

She quietly padded into the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her. 

Kagome peeked out the window and saw that there was still a thick layer of snow on the ground. 

She'd have to check her email when she got out of the bathroom, but she was almost positive that her school would be closed that day. 

And the lawyer’s office probably would be, too. 

She sighed. _Well, at least this means we won't be getting divorced on our anniversary._

Five years of marriage, four of which had been complete bliss. 

But now...nothing. 

She was grateful, though. Once Inuyasha _asked_ and really _listened_ to her, she could tell he understood exactly why she felt the way she did. 

She knew if she gave him the chance, he would do his hardest to make it better. 

But did she want that?

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she took care of her business before brushing her teeth. 

When she finished using the bathroom, she walked back into the bedroom, intending to slide on a pair of slippers before grabbing her laptop to check her email. 

She found Inuyasha sitting in the bed, rubbing his eyes before smoothing his hand through his hair. 

“Hey,” he said when they locked eyes. “You sleep okay?”

Kagome shrugged. “Yeah, all things considered.”

Inuyasha grimaced and got up, wincing as he adjusted the pants he'd fallen asleep in. 

He walked over to their dresser and pulled out some clothes. 

When Kagome raised an eyebrow at the sweats he'd chosen, he half-smiled. 

“Work is closed,” he offered as an explanation. “They called while you were in the bathroom. I don't need to go in.”

Kagome nodded and walked over to her slippers. 

“Alright,” she said. “I'm gonna go make breakfast.”

When she reached the kitchen and started pulling out pans and bowls to make pancakes, she paused.

She glanced at the counter where they'd left the speaker out the night before. Grabbing her phone, she connected it and scrolled through her music app to find a song she liked.

Settling on one she’d loved in college, she put the music on a low volume as she got to work, humming along under her breath as she got the pancakes started.

She was lost in her task when Inuyasha finally emerged from the bathroom. His hair was a little damp from the shower he’d obviously taken, and Kagome tried to think back to the last time she’d combed it out for him. She couldn’t remember.

She used to love doing that, and although Inuyasha wouldn’t admit it, she knew he loved it, too.

“Pancakes are almost done,” Kagome said when he came into the kitchen. Inuyasha nodded and went to the cabinet, pulling out plates before moving to the utensil drawer to pull out forks.

The next song turned on, one she remembered them often playing during her sunroof moments.

When the first verse started playing, she heard Inuyasha start to sing along softly.

The sound of his voice made her ache. She’d missed hearing him sing. She’d missed listening to music with him.

She missed dancing with him in the kitchen. She missed…  
She missed everything.

Kagome allowed herself to get lost in his voice as she finished up the final touches on the pancakes. She’d made a few chocolate chip pancakes and a few blueberry pancakes, which were their two favorite kinds.

Once she’d finished, she kept the music on as they brought their plates over to the table to eat.

“Thank you,” Inuyasha said before they started eating.

“You’re welcome,” Kagome replied.

They ate silently until a new song came on.

Kagome froze.

It was their wedding song.

She looked up at Inuyasha, who had gone still, too.

Their eyes locked as the song played in the background.

“Happy anniversary,” he said softly.

If Kagome looked hard enough, she could almost see him in a tuxedo again, waiting for her at the end of the aisle at their wedding as her younger brother walked her to him.

If Kagome looked hard enough, she could almost see him playing their wedding song on repeat throughout their honeymoon, laughing and shouting that he wanted to make sure they had all kinds of good memories whenever they heard it. And they did.

If Kagome looked hard enough, she could almost see the Inuyasha she’d met ten years ago, with his boyish charm and shy smirk. She could almost feel their first kiss again, and how she’d been able to feel him smirk against her lips when her breath had caught in her throat from the moment.

And that reminded her…

Inuyasha couldn’t remember when their last kiss was…

But she did.

She was brought back to the present, watching Inuyasha as they stared at each other across the table.

When the song ended and a new one began playing, they didn’t even notice.

“I remember,” she murmured. “I remember our last kiss.”

Inuyasha’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Kagome nodded. “I don’t remember the exact day it was, but I remember it happening.” She took a deep breath.

“It was...it was the last time I fell asleep on the couch before...I stopped coming to bed with you. You leaned down and kissed me. It was short, but...I could feel how much you loved me in it. But...I could also feel that you were starting to give up. It felt like a goodbye kiss. We started alternating who slept in the bed and who slept on the couch the next night.”

He heard Inuyasha’s sharp intake of air as she spoke.

“Is that...really?” he asked softly. Kagome nodded and half-shrugged.

“Yeah,” she replied simply.

Inuyasha looked down at his plate. “I don’t want that to be our last kiss. It seems...abrupt.”

Kagome’s eyes widened. “I don’t want it to be our last kiss either.”

Inuyasha looked up at her again, and she could see his eyes quickly drift down to her lips before traveling back up to look into her eyes.

Kagome slowly stood up from where she was sitting. She grabbed Inuyasha’s hand and tugged him up to stand in front of her.

She looked up at him before gently setting her hands on his shoulders.

Inuyasha looked at her, sadness in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Kagome started to lean up, but Inuyasha turned away at the last moment.

He hugged her close instead of kissing her.

“I don’t want to give you a last kiss,” he murmured into her hair.

Kagome nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him back.

She didn’t know how long they stood there.

But by the time they resumed eating their breakfast, the pancakes were cold.

o.O.o

After they ate, Inuyasha washed the dishes as Kagome checked her email. Sure enough, the school was closed and she received a phone call about it shortly after.

She looked at Inuyasha.

“Your work is closed?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Inuyasha replied. “And I don’t have any pressing matters I need to do, so I don’t really have anything to work on today.” He glanced at her. “Do you want to have a lazy day? Just...watch movies and eat whatever junk food we have?”

Kagome smiled. “Sure.”

She got up and went into the living room, turning on the TV and opening Netflix. She started flipping through the movies, wanting to find something mindless and light-hearted.

Inuyasha joined her on the couch with the pillows from their bed and two throw blankets.

Once they’d gotten comfortable on the couch, they soon decided to forego a movie and start watching a new show instead, figuring that would be easier than picking a new movie every time one ended. 

It was nice.

o.O.o

Kagome didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she woke up. Glancing over, she saw Inuyasha had fallen asleep as well. They’d both leaned on their respective arms of the couch, having both brought their legs up as they slept.

She looked to see that their feet were entangled, and it reminded her of the nights they’d spent doing that while sleeping in their bed.

Together.

Kagome thought back on the day. It had been quiet as they just watched the show.

It was comfortable and relaxing. 

_When was the last time I felt either of those things?_

She grabbed her phone and saw that it was nearing eleven at night.

They really had been lazy the whole day, but Inuyasha had at least cooked a proper dinner, so they weren’t completely sedentary the whole time.

Kagome gently woke Inuyasha up, rousing him so they could get ready for bed.

When they’d finished their respective nightly routines, Inuyasha started to go back into the living room, leaving Kagome seated on the bed.

“I’ll take the couch,” he offered.

“Wait,” Kagome said quickly. “Can you...can you sleep in here with me again?”

Inuyasha looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Kagome shrugged. “It was nice last night.”

Inuyasha looked at her a moment more, obviously thinking over her offer, before he finally nodded.

“Let me get my pillow,” he said as he left the room.

When he returned, he put his pillow back on his side and lay down.

Kagome lay down, too, settling herself under the covers and laying on her side to face him.

Inuyasha did the same, and they just looked at each other for a few moments.

“Today was nice,” he finally said. 

“Yeah,” Kagome agreed softly. “It was.”

Inuyasha reached out into the space between them, setting his hand down with the palm facing up.

Kagome didn’t hesitate in reaching out to take his hand, gently squeezing it as they lay silently.

His eyes were still on her when she fell asleep.

o.O.o

Kagome’s lawyer called the next day to reschedule their appointment to sign the divorce papers.

She had an opening that afternoon, and since the roads were still deemed too unsafe for school buses, Kagome was off the whole day.

_I guess we could go during Inuyasha’s lunch break..._

When she mentioned it to him, his eyes had gone dark.

“That’s fine,” was all he’d said before disappearing into the bathroom.

They met at the office during Inuyasha’s lunch break. Kagome arrived first, and when Inuyasha pulled in to park next to her, she felt a lump come into her throat.

 _Is this the right decision?_ she wondered silently as she unbuckled her seatbelt. _After yesterday...and the day before...maybe we could work things out._

She closed her eyes for a moment, the unhappiness of the last year rushing through her again.

But…

She opened her eyes and turned her car off. 

O.o.O.o.O

Once Inuyasha parked outside the office, he met Kagome where she was getting out of her car.

“Hey,” he greeted quietly.

He was surprised by the conflicted gleam in her eyes, but he didn’t dare to question it.

He’d been shocked when she mentioned the rescheduled appointment. He’d felt like maybe there was hope for them after all, but if Kagome wasn’t happy, and if she knew she would never be happy with him again, then…

He would do this for her.

He locked his car and slipped his keys in his pocket before checking his watch. 

They needed to get going. He only had an hour for lunch and--

His thoughts froze when he looked at Kagome, only to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Kagome…”

“I don’t want to sign the papers,” she whispered. Inuyasha’s eyes widened at her admission.

“I don’t want to either,” Inuyasha agreed.

Kagome sniffled. “Then...should we wait?”

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment.

“I want to do what you want to do,” he finally said. “And if you want to wait, then we’ll wait.”

Kagome didn’t respond. She stared down at the ground, obviously deep in thought.

“I don’t want to sign them,” she whispered as she finally looked up at him again. “I just...I don’t want to.”

Inuyasha bit his lip, not allowing himself to hope.

“Maybe...maybe we could do marriage counseling,” Kagome suggested. “Like you said the other night.”

Inuyasha nodded. “Yeah...I would really like for us to do that.”

Kagome nodded back. “I’m gonna go inside to tell my lawyer. I feel bad calling to cancel when we’re already here.”

“Okay,” Inuyasha replied. Kagome half-smiled at him before going inside.

When she was gone, Inuyasha took a deep breath and closed his eyes, praying to anyone who’d be willing to listen that they could somehow find themselves again.

After about ten minutes, Kagome returned.

“So...was she mad?” Inuyasha asked when she came to stand in front of him again.

Kagome laughed a bit. “No, she was just surprised. It’s alright, though. She actually gave me some good suggestions for marriage counselors.”

“That’s great,” Inuyasha said sincerely. He could hear the relief in his own voice.

Kagome’s gaze crashed with his.

Inuyasha’s breath caught in his throat as they stared at each other.

But then she smiled.

And something inside him, call it instincts, call it intuition, told him that this would be the last time they found themselves at her lawyer’s office.

FIN.


End file.
